Thirty seven years ago I would have never guessed that I would be an author with four books under my belt. Even when I illustrated cartoons and wrote blurbs for the Inkling Newspaper at Gervais High School I never imagined it. I always visualized myself as a fast typist and a pro-football player.
For some of you that might think it's easy to write a book, well, I have to admit that those were my thoughts too at one time. I sure absorbed an education when I wrote my first book (it's a long process). Even when I published my fourth book the challenges kept coming, non-fiction verses fiction, two different animals -- I won't get into the rest of the process. The writing and creativity is the fun part for me -- I really have a blast with that. The marketing and business part is work for me.
Back in the days, I was the new kid on the block at Gervais. I attended most of my school years in Texas. Shockingly, in 1976 my family of six kids packed up and we moved to Oregon at the end of my sophomore year. I completed my junior and senior years at Gervais High School.
In 1978 as a senior, I wanted to challenge myself in English class. I always enjoyed that subject more than others. I heard that there was a teacher that was pretty cool and could relate to the high school kids in a calm way. I decided to register into the Honors English Class. This was supposed to be the class where all of the smart kids were. I always considered myself a C and B student due to coolness of being a Jock -- I didn't really apply myself as much as I should have. Well, that changed when I met Mr. Gary Everitt.
I called him Mr. Everitt back then, but I guess he feels better if I call him Gary now. Gary taught in a way that was fun for the class -- I do remember that. We actually talked about what we read, whether it was something I had no interest in, or maybe a topic that captured my total focus and kept me engaged the entire class time. The thing is, everyone in the class had the opportunity to express their thoughts about the message the author was sending. I still remember his famous words to me, "David, what do you think ... what's the author trying to say?" I knew the entire class was watching me and I was so nervous. After the third time he asked me, I had built up enough confidence in myself to express my thoughts. Thank you Gary for calling on me when I was sitting there thinking I wasn't as smart as some of the others in class.
Gary had me participate in a contest. We had two teams and the questions asked were Latin questions. I was totally caught by surprise when Gary announced that I answered most of the questions correct for my team -- wow!
Okay, so last Saturday I had a book signing at the Gervais Market. It was my fifth stop of the Oregon tour. My wife and I showed up at 9:00 a.m. to set up ... I was there from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. I had sold and signed a few books in the morning. There was a long wait and the afternoon hit fast. In walks Gary with his wife. I won't forget his words ... these words made me feel really good -- I almost started to tear up.
"Finally, someone listened in my class. He made it!" Gary said.
I took a look at Gary and shook his hand. His knees looked a lot healthier than mine. He had managed to keep himself in great shape. We talked about his grandkids that were playing soccer and many other things. It was so good to see him and the best part is that he bought the two-part Gervais High School story that I wrote, "Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid" and "Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid II". Maybe the next time I see him I'll ask him, "So Gary, what was the author trying to say in the story?"
I have to admit that seeing my Honors English teacher made my day, it was worth the drive up to Gervais. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Gary Everitt, for stopping by at my book signing event. It was a real pleasure seeing you and meeting your wife that day. I hope to run into you again in the future.